According to Tauck, they can only recommend a minimum age for tours, not stop people with younger children traveling, Something about discrimination. This is why, on our last tour, K and T and Rwanda, our group ended up with a family of five with three children under the age of ten. As there were only fourteen other people, and most meals were on two reserved Tauck tables, usually one of ten and one of eight, you might find yourselves sitting just three adults with the family, often at eight o’clock at night. Something my husband and I and others did not want but could do nothing about it. I have never encountered anything like this on my numerous Tauck tours. It changed the dynamics of the group. It made it very awkward on the tour for all sorts of reasons, from the tour director not being able to discuss the reproductive habits of the animals she feature on a little talk each night to the children falling asleep on the balloon ride, the six year old got to ride even though Tauck said the minimum age was seven. I could go on.
Alicia, I have five year old and six year old grandchildren, I don’t see them dealing with first of all, the jet lag, unless you arrive a couple of days early to help with a little readjustment. I would expect children to be well behaved, I know my grandchildren can’t be guaranteed to be angels especially if they are tired. I’m assuming the Tauck activities would be geared to children over the age of eight.
On the other end of the children age spectrum, I can’t understand parents who take older almost twenty year old teenagers on the Bridges tours.
Seriously considering this voyage with our 5 year old daughter...
Well, I did some digging but could not find anything on the Tauck site. I did find the following on a Tauck reseller's website: "Note: Minimum age for our Tauck Bridges river cruises is 4 years; minimum age for our Tauck Bridges African safaris is 5 years; and minimum age for our Tauck Bridges Galápagos cruise is 6 years." Another reseller's website said, "The recommended minimum age for Tauck's family river cruises is 8 years old, but you should be fine with a 7-year-old."
Two things to consider with a 5 year old- despite having youth-based activities and experiences, I doubt many will appeal to a 5 year old. From the ages discussed in forum posts by bridges travelers over the years, there will not likely be anyone else on tour who will be so young or who may want to hang with someone so young.
Finally, you might want to read the old post at the link below. I debated about including it here, but it contains a number of good comments and breakdowns of ages, including one person with a 5 year old, before it degenerates into rather confrontational exchanges.
Thanks for your input and the link to the thread. Helpful info indeed. We decided on the Portugal Douro Valley Family river cruise July 4-11. I checked with Tauck. Minimum age is 4. They were also nice enough to give me a breakdown of ages of other children booked on the cruise. Luckily, there are others with younger ones and many close in age to my two older teens. FWIW, we are considerate travelers and try to always make smart choices considering our child's age and limitations. Thanks again!
Just be especially careful when on the sundeck. River cruise ships have fairly low railings in part because they are limited by low bridges. The one for the Douro might have slightly higher ones than the others - it's sun deck is designed very differently. There's also the outside stairs from the deck down to the ship entrances and the gangplanks getting on/off the ship. Lots of ways a energetic child could get hurt.
Thanks to tour question Alicia, we all learned a lot here. Please write a review on the forum when you return, I’d like to take the new regular Douro River Cruise sometime.
Comments
Seriously considering this voyage with our 5 year old daughter...
You might want to check with Tauck. I believe 8 is the minimum age.
According to Tauck, they can only recommend a minimum age for tours, not stop people with younger children traveling, Something about discrimination. This is why, on our last tour, K and T and Rwanda, our group ended up with a family of five with three children under the age of ten. As there were only fourteen other people, and most meals were on two reserved Tauck tables, usually one of ten and one of eight, you might find yourselves sitting just three adults with the family, often at eight o’clock at night. Something my husband and I and others did not want but could do nothing about it. I have never encountered anything like this on my numerous Tauck tours. It changed the dynamics of the group. It made it very awkward on the tour for all sorts of reasons, from the tour director not being able to discuss the reproductive habits of the animals she feature on a little talk each night to the children falling asleep on the balloon ride, the six year old got to ride even though Tauck said the minimum age was seven. I could go on.
Alicia, I have five year old and six year old grandchildren, I don’t see them dealing with first of all, the jet lag, unless you arrive a couple of days early to help with a little readjustment. I would expect children to be well behaved, I know my grandchildren can’t be guaranteed to be angels especially if they are tired. I’m assuming the Tauck activities would be geared to children over the age of eight.
On the other end of the children age spectrum, I can’t understand parents who take older almost twenty year old teenagers on the Bridges tours.
Well, I did some digging but could not find anything on the Tauck site. I did find the following on a Tauck reseller's website: "Note: Minimum age for our Tauck Bridges river cruises is 4 years; minimum age for our Tauck Bridges African safaris is 5 years; and minimum age for our Tauck Bridges Galápagos cruise is 6 years." Another reseller's website said, "The recommended minimum age for Tauck's family river cruises is 8 years old, but you should be fine with a 7-year-old."
Two things to consider with a 5 year old- despite having youth-based activities and experiences, I doubt many will appeal to a 5 year old. From the ages discussed in forum posts by bridges travelers over the years, there will not likely be anyone else on tour who will be so young or who may want to hang with someone so young.
Finally, you might want to read the old post at the link below. I debated about including it here, but it contains a number of good comments and breakdowns of ages, including one person with a 5 year old, before it degenerates into rather confrontational exchanges.
https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/1165/young-children-on-tauck-bridges/p1
Thanks for your input and the link to the thread. Helpful info indeed. We decided on the Portugal Douro Valley Family river cruise July 4-11. I checked with Tauck. Minimum age is 4. They were also nice enough to give me a breakdown of ages of other children booked on the cruise. Luckily, there are others with younger ones and many close in age to my two older teens. FWIW, we are considerate travelers and try to always make smart choices considering our child's age and limitations. Thanks again!
Just be especially careful when on the sundeck. River cruise ships have fairly low railings in part because they are limited by low bridges. The one for the Douro might have slightly higher ones than the others - it's sun deck is designed very differently. There's also the outside stairs from the deck down to the ship entrances and the gangplanks getting on/off the ship. Lots of ways a energetic child could get hurt.
OH my goodness! Thank you!
Thanks to tour question Alicia, we all learned a lot here. Please write a review on the forum when you return, I’d like to take the new regular Douro River Cruise sometime.